South Carolina’s abundant alternative-energy resources could become an enormous economic driver for the state’s rural economies. The challenge is to develop uses for these new fuels through environmentally friendly processes — and then turn that research into jobs.
Speaking during the BioEnterprise and I-95 Rural Economic Development Summit, Mac Horton, director of the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development, said the area known as the I-95 corridor has many opportunities.
The region includes 17 counties that touch or are within 30 miles of the interstate, he said. The area is characterized by small rural towns that are home to a predominately lower income, economically distressed population, and where unemployment and poverty rates are among the highest in the state.
Incorporating bioenterprise technologies into this area could bring significant economic and environmental benefits, he said. “This industrial sector could see huge economic benefits in South Carolina’s rural communities. There are enormous natural resources here.”
The summit at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center brought together a wide array of people from academia, government agencies and private industry. More than 300 people registered for the event. Clemson’s Jim Frederick, who organized the summit, expects a healthy dialogue that will highlight a wealth of opportunity in bioenterprises.
From The Times and Democrat: https://thetandd.com/business/bioenterprise-could-be-a-boon-for-i–corridor/article_a23849ac-2205-11e3-9feb-0019bb2963f4.html